I take it that u are 63 years old Snowy? How long were u taking asthma meds throughout your life and what were they? U do know that not taking inhaled steroids before a certain age promotes deterioration of the lung over time in asthmatics.

As everyone else said, it can show up at all ages. Allergic asthma is generally more prevalent in children, and asthma due to other factors (GERD, VCD, etc.) has a more common onset in adults. It can go both ways though.

mine showed up at age 15... it marked the end of my extremely severe eczema and the beginning of sporadic asthma, bouncing from extreme lows to almost normal lung function..it also showed up with allergic rhinitis. Some would say this is both the result of the use of very very potent topical steroids when I was younger.. some also say that 15 is about the age that people "grow out of" eczema and "grow into" alllergic rhinitis/asthma. There's no definite for sure reason why. there's sooo many things that can cause and/or aggravate asthma..medications, certain conditions, etc etc..so it can show up at any age.

It can show up at any age, i started with signs when i was 13/14 alitttle short of breath during exercise but nothing too severe i didnt even take preventative meds then, but when i turned 21 i had been bad with a cold and things deteriorated and i was diagnosed as asthmatic, i was put on steroid preventative inhalers and these have been changed 3 or 4 times because they wern't suitable, luckily i now have it under control i take 2 preventatives and have 1 for attacks and to use before the preventatives, if in doubt go n see your doctor, theres tests they can do to diagnose.
for me it was heradatory but my mum who originally had asthma now has chromnic bronchial asthma because of smoking.
allergies can set it off too, also perfumes, air fresheners, animal hair, coughing, sneezing even stress.My mums is now even set off by human hair, which is unfortunate because she was a hairdresser for many years.
if in doubt see your doctor after all it is your health.
my friends little girl 3 has to use preventatives and my grandme only got it later in life. hope this has helped
take care

I guess what most of us are saying is that asthma can show up in any age. I know people that have it almost out of the womb. My neice's little girl for example, I think started having symptoms before one year old. It seems when it starts that early and if severe, it will go into a kind of remission during the teen years. I have read that hormones play a part. But usually (but not always) comes back later in life. I think what is really weird about asthma is that it is so variable. I mean, symptoms and severity is almost as varied as each individual. I think it would be kind of interesting to see what other people's sympotms are. I also read another poster that said she has asthma early in life and now has emphysema. Is that possible? I didn't think emphysema, possibly some characteristics of COPD maybe. Sometimes asthma that is left untreated and severe for years and years can get to be irreversable. But anyway I would really like to find someone with asthma like mine. It seems most people are different from me. Here are mine:
* No wheezing
* No "attacks" I mean sudden breathlessness.
* No night time symptoms
* Peak flow is normal and hardly ever varies.
* I have vague shortness of breath that is worse when I climb steps.
* Allergic rhinnitis
* Productive cough especially after I eat.
* Colds that always turn to a cough
* But I have never been hospitalized or had pneumonia
* Quality of life is not altered
* Abnormal spirometry (low numbers in small airways, but pretty good in
large airways)
My allergy doctor said that everybody's asthma is different and everybody responds different to medication. But right now I am on Advair 100/50, Nasacort, Flovent if needed. I also take lots of vitamins and supplements and try to exercise on a regular basis.
Cindy

I'd jsut like to say your post is really helpful and clear - and gives me a lot of encouragement too...

I'm still waiting a definite diagnosis (been referred to specialist and on waiting list here in UK) for "probable asthma".

My symptoms are not dissimilar from your own:
No wheezing whatsoever
some attacks of breathlessness, likened to hyperventilating, but very rare
No night time symptoms apart from some chest tightness - never stops me sleeping
Exercise does trigger symptoms and make me worse if already suffering
Colds generally turn into coughs (always have done even before Asthma) that can take weeks to clear up
Never had to seek emergency help other than booking next day Drs appt

My main day to day symptoms are in varying degrees of chest tightness, with some shortness of breath - a good day is pretty much nothing, a typical day with symptoms is mild tightness/aching, and a bad day is anything from an elephant sat on my chest to somebody squeezing me so tight its preventing air in/forcing air out

That said, it still doesn't affect me greatly, and I almost feel guilty when I talk to friends who suffer much more than I do...

I'm on Seretide 250/25 X 2, twice a day (equivalent to advair I believe - fluticasone/salmeterol) plus ventolin as needed, and have now adopted a "kill or cure" attitude, trying to do everything I always did... hill walking, going to the pub, DIY, gardening... can trigger symptoms, especially if the pub is smoky etc but life is too short to give it up ...

Hi Kat,
Your symptoms are similar to mine. That is encouraging to me because I have friends that have asthma and they all have very "definite" symtoms - sudden attacks, night time coughing, and when they use their inhaler its like night and day. Mine is kind of there, not really extreme one way or another. However, my lung function test did show asthma. Do you live in a big city or a smaller country town? I have heard that there is a lot of air pollution in the UK and because of that a lot of asthma? Is that true? I know I have a lot of allergies - tree pollen, grass, and pet dander. I'm not really around a lot of smoky areas right now, but the fact that my two little schnauzers might make me worse bother me. I will not get rid of them, they are like family. Have you ever hear of NAET? It is Natural Allergy Elimination Treatment. It is ony done by a naturopathic doctor who specializes in natural medication and treatment. We have a doctor here in my city who does it and I am considering. I tried the allergy shot route and got minimal help. The only problem is that it is not covered by insurance and might be a bit expensive.
How do you think your medications are working for you? You are on medications very similar to me (Advair and Albuterol as needed). I have been on them since December, but I am on the lowest dose of Advair. Maybe I should ask my doctor to increase it a litttle. I am like you, do things as normal, exercise, go where I want. Right now I am on a whole body cleanse to try and help my allergies. It is a lot of supplements and fiber for 10 days. Our allergy season is at an all time high where I live - everything blooming. Let me know how your doctor's visit turns out!! Take care,
Cindy

I live in Yorkshire (north east of England), on the very edge of a small town. Air pollution isn't too bad here at all - its mostly only in the bigger cities, in built up areas. We also get out into the peak district (Derbyshire) and open country a lot at weekends for fresh air and exercise (both for us and the kids). But it is true that Asthma levels are high in the UK, and rising - I read somewhere recently that there are as many as 70,000 new diagnoses each year

I think the Seretide is making a difference , though things could be probably be better still, especially as this week I went down with a nasty cold, and after a couple of days, was struggling for breath (now on a 5 - 7 day course of prednisolone as well - peak flow was 200 even after copious amounts of salbutamol, and though I don't really have an established best to go by, indicative readings for my height and age suggest 425 - 475). I've also had my first experience of it interfering with sleep - having to use exta pillow to prop myself up at night.

I'm not entirely sure that allergy treatments would make a huge impact for me - most of my triggers seem to be non-allergic: virus, coldand windy weather, dust, fumes, exercise - though pollen is making things worse just lately now spring and summer are finally getting started, as I do suffer from mild hayfever too. If you are troubled more by allergies, its worth considering.

I guess the good thing about our health system is that we pay a prescription charge per item rather than the actual cost of the drugs (often this would be more) and I have opted for a 4 month prepayment system that saves you money if you have more than 5 items in that time (I've just ordered 2 more items on a script to take me to 7 items in 6 weeks). There are campaigns ongoing for Asthma drugs to be free, as they are for a lot of life threatening conditions, such as diabetes, thyroid etc. In fact if you have one of those conditions, all presribed medicine is free, not just the items for that condition.

well, all I can do at the moment is keep taking the pills and inhalers and keep waiting for my appointment... I was told the waiting list was 10 - 12 weeks, so any time soon, hopefully.

I don't really WANT to increase my medicine (Advair). But I've had this lingering mucusy cough that won't go away after I had a sinus infection. My doctor had told me that I might need to up my meds if I get sick. But that would be temporary.